Raza had a Facebook argument about Islam with someone who turned out to be a counter-terrorism department official, defence lawyer Rana Fida Hussain said. The official brought charges againstRaza based on the comments made on the social networking site.

Hussain said his client was innocent and that he would appeal the conviction. Millions of Pakistanis have been receiving text messages from the government warning them against sharing "blasphemous" content online.